1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to transducer suspension systems and more particularly to a transducer suspension system comprised of stacked material layers.
2. Description of Prior Art
Direct access storage devices (DASD), or disk drives, store information on concentric tracks of a rotatable magnetic recording disk. A magnetic head or transducer element is moved from track to track to record and read the desired information. Typically, the magnetic head is positioned on an air bearing slider which flies above the surface of the disk as the disk rotates. In some recently proposed disk drives, the slider (or carrier) rides on a liquid film or bearing on the disk. A suspension assembly connects the slider to a rotary or linear actuator. The suspension provides support for the slider.
As disk drives become smaller in size, the recorded track density has increased dramatically. This has necessitated the use of smaller and smaller heads and suspensions. However, the smaller geometries of the suspension and head make it more difficult to manufacture the disk drive. In particular it has become extremely difficult to manufacture these heads and suspension components and their related electrical lead lines with the required accuracy and small tolerances.